What kind of bird will you often see sitting on the back of rhinoceros?

In the world today, the oxpecker (tickbird) consists of two species – the yellow-billed and red-billed oxpecker. They are roughly the same size – about 20 cm long at full size. Both inhabit broad areas in sub-Saharan Africa, largely wherever you find larger grazing animals. The yellow-billed oxpeckers (tickbirds) are found mostly in the sub-Saharan and east and west Africa; they are not found in rainforests or deserts. When Rhinoceros are seen, it is this bird that is most often seen on their backs.

In addition besides the rhino, chances are other animals such as the African buffalo, zebra, or giraffe can also be seen at some point an tickbird sitting on them.

It seems that the animals especially the rhino doesn’t mind the presence of the tickbird, as they eat annoying ticks, flies, maggots, and other pests. One oxpecker (tickbird) can easily eat several hundred bugs a day.

Yellows oxpeckers, eating from their host customers, like to get at insect larvae and go for dug-in ticks with more force. It is likely that the yellow’s thicker beak allows it a more aggressive motion when dealing with its prey.

Oxpeckers live for around 15 years, which is considered a decent age for their size. When breeding, one breeding pair (oxpeckers mate for life) lays eggs, while 5 or 6 adult birds help rear the chicks.

These parasite-eating birds love to build their nests in tree cavities – holes in trees or old woodpecker boreholes.